It is known to provide a windscreen behind the head restraints of the front seats of a convertible car to minimize buffeting experienced by the front passengers caused by eddy currents while driving in the car.
An example of a windscreen is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,718 ('718) to Götz et al. The '718 reference discloses a wind deflecting cover having a vertical windscreen that is extendable from a wind-up spool or roller disposed immediately behind the front seats. The cover is extended upwardly and secured to a cross member of a roll bar. A horizontal frame extends along a space between the roller and a rear end of the passenger compartment. The frame is covered with a net to form a resting cover. The frame and resting cover are not, however, movable or collapsible to accommodate a row of seats between the front seats and the rear end of the passenger compartment.
Another windscreen is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,027 ('027) to Graf. The '027 reference discloses a wind protection arrangement having a flexible membrane extendable from a spool supported along a rear end of the passenger compartment. A bow is pivotally coupled to the vehicle body. A deflecting support is pivotally coupled to the bow. The membrane extends horizontally between the rear end of the passenger compartment and the deflecting support. The membrane continues vertically from the deflecting support, so that an end of the membrane is fixedly secured to an upper transversely extending bar of the bow. A retracting mechanism extends between the rear end of the passenger compartment and the deflecting member. As in the '718 reference, the retracting mechanism of the '027 reference would interfere with and, therefore, not accommodate a row of seats between the front seats and the rear end of the passenger compartment.
Accordingly, it remains desirable to provide a windscreen design usable in a passenger vehicle having front and rear seats and a device for moving the windscreen between a retracted position stored behind the rear seats and an extended position disposed behind the head restraints of the front seats.